Handover of signatures in support of a citizens’ petition for a students’ 365€ ticket

Today, at the launch of the 9€ ticket, students in the Erlangen-Nuremberg university region are calling for a permanently cheaper semester ticket, because the local semester ticket is one of the most expensive in a nationwide comparison. The run on the 9€ ticket shows that many people want cheaper public transport. A recent study showing that 30% of students live on or below the poverty line illustrates how many students have to watch their wallets. Cheaper fares also have a significant steering effect on transport among this price-sensitive group.

After a good four weeks of collecting signatures, the two student representatives Paulus Guter (coordinator of AK Semesterticket) and Christian Peppel (chair of the Student Convention at FAU) handed over the collected signatures in support of the citizens’ petition regarding the 365€ ticket for students to the Mayor of Erlangen Florian Janik and other members of various factions of the city council.

In addition to the approx. 1,200 signatures submitted for the city of Erlangen, over 2,300 people in Nuremberg signed an equivalent application. Also, over 1,800 students residing outside Erlangen and Nuremberg have supported the application with their signatures (often second homes in Erlangen/Nuremberg). For the city of Nuremberg, the collection for the equivalent motion continues, as at least 4,000 valid signatures are required there. “More than 5,300 signatures for a cheaper semester ticket in the region is a strong sign,” says Büşra Başol, Vice Chair of the FAU Student Council.

“Especially after paid base tickets during Corona and after the 9€ ticket, the semester ticket must now become permanently cheaper. That is why the State of Bavaria and the municipalities should strengthen public transport. In the medium term, our wish is for a state-wide semester ticket, as is available in many federal states,” says Paulus Guter from AK Semesterticket.

Even though all students at FAU, THN, EvHN and HfM will be able to use their base ticket purchased with the solidarity contribution as a 9€ ticket in the next 3 months, affordable public transport will still be needed afterwards, especially for students. This can improve the value of the university location and make it more attractive.

This demand is underlined by the student representatives in the Erlangen-Nuremberg area with the citizens’ petition for a 365€ ticket for students. “We call on all parliamentary groups to vote in favour of these proposals because of social and transport policy reasons,” says Christian Peppel, Chair of the FAU Student Convention.